But if You Close Your Eyes
by shuues
Summary: The Great Wall of Suzanoh had been taken over by Nohrian troops with Corrin at the helm, the Hoshidan fighters taken in as prisoners of war. Among them, prince Takumi, who would rather die than ever have to see his sibling ever again. For Corrin, reaching out to their brother would be a challenge greater than seizing a wall or fighting a battle.
**[Spoilers for Conquest up to Chapter 23, Birthright up to Chapter 10, and foreshadowing that's sort of spoilery if you squint]**

serious canon divergence au, because i like dealing with "what ifs"

following conquest chapter 23, takumi doesn't fall off the great wall and is taken prisoner

also corrin uses "they/them" pronouns

up until the point where the divergence happens, the dialogue is unaltered (more or less), so you get that fun takumi dialogue

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The battle at the Great Wall of Suzanoh was long, tedious, and painful; Corrin's army had suffered barrage after barrage of ballista fire and the healers had exhausted their staves, but they slowly traveled up the wall, taking out Takumi's troops, sparing them their lives and taking them as prisoners. Niles in particular had taken an odd sort of pleasure in apprehending Takumi's retainers, which Leo had simply shrugged off as the rest of the army cringed at a safe distance. Once Oboro had been taken out, the only Hoshidan standing was Takumi, positioned at the very top tower, sending arrows flying their way.

Taking him out had been easy, with Xander and Leo at their side. One spell from Brynhildr and one final strike with Siegfried had cast the prince down, falling to his knees and cursing his forgotten sibling for all the torment they had caused. Fujin Yumi clattered to the wooden floor and was quickly picked up by Leo, in case Takumi had decided to go for a final blow once the battle had ceased. With the defeat of the Hoshidan prince, the Great Wall was seized by Nohr, and the Nohrian army let out a collective sigh.

"It's over, Takumi," Corrin faced their blood brother with a look of grief and pity, almost flinching at the look of pure hatred that they received in return. Keeping their expression as strong and unyielding as possible, they continued. "The Nohrian army has seized control of the Great Wall of Suzanoh. All remaining soldiers will be taken. That includes you."

"Dammit! Coward!" Takumi was screaming to their face, what followed was a mix of Hoshidan expletives and gasps. For once, Corrin was glad they weren't too fluent in the language yet, though they could pick out a certain phrase- "I hope you rot in a pit of eternal torment".

While Corrin was shocked into silence, Leo was not. "You should be grateful we're allowing you to live. You may be our prisoner, but we will not treat you cruelly-" The Nohrian prince's words only seemed to anger Takumi more, as he tried to get to his feet shakily. Too exhausted to even move, he glared at the blonde, who continued. "If you behave, we may even let you see your sister, Princess Sakura."

Hearing Sakura's name caught Takumi's attention as his expression shifted from rage, to horror, to absolute disgust. "Sakura, too? You monsters!" Struggling to his feet using the now-useless ballista as a crutch, Takumi stumbled back slightly as he frantically looked around for an escape. He was surrounded, the path to the stairs blocked off by Nohrian generals. His back was barely guarded, but that was a huge drop off the highest portion of the Great Wall.

"Takumi, I know how you must be feeling, but please, calm yourself," Corrin tried to step closer, uneasily glancing back to the stairs as well. They were running out of time; they needed to finish up before King Garon made his entrance, or the consequences would be much worse. Another step, and they put out their hands for Takumi to take. "We have to bind and imprison you before Father arrives. Please, just put out your hands and-"

Takumi slapped Corrin's hands away, recoiling at the contact and staggering back. "Don't touch me! Don't you _dare_ lay your filthy Nohrian hands on me!"

"Takumi…" Corrin, and the rest of the Nohrians surrounding them, had fallen silent. Takumi's stomach turned, feeling sicker the longer he had to stay there, and he took another step back.

"I mean it! Don't come near me!" Voice thick and wavering with emotion, Takumi wasn't entirely aware of what came out of his mouth at that point, venting all the frustration and anger he had held in since the war began. "If it wasn't for you, none of those awful things would've happened to Hoshido!"

It was all Corrin's fault, wasn't it? Everything that had went wrong, all the suffering Takumi and his family had endured. "Nobody would've had to die! We could've been a family!"

But Corrin believed otherwise. Corrin believed that their family were the scum that had killed his father, his mother, and a good deal of Hoshidans, but Takumi couldn't understand. "Why did you go back to Nohr!? Why? _Tell me why_!"

"Why didn't you choose us?! Your real family! Why?!" His voice was failing him now, scratchy and sore and painful in his throat. He felt his face get warmer, his eyes get wetter with tears he didn't want to let fall, and the look of pity Corrin was giving him only made it worse.

"Takumi, I…"

"Don't you speak my name, _traitor_!" Maybe it was the emotion in Corrin's voice, maybe it was the almost cathartic feeling of getting to blow up and scream his feelings out, but Takumi felt the sobs come full force now, hot tears flowing down his dirty, injured cheeks. His body hurt and threatened to give in at any time, but his head was absolutely killing him, the aches and pains only increasing.

Then, emptiness. Something seemed to change inside Takumi, all the fury and rage gone, replaced with something else. Something hollow.

"It doesn't matter," It was hard to talk now, his voice soft and hoarse. Takumi turned slightly to the wall behind him. "Nothing matters- not anymore."

"Takumi? Why… Why would you say that?"

There was a way out. A way Takumi could continue on, evade capture from his once-sibling. Even without the Yato, he could save his nation; they couldn't keep him prisoner. He turned, stepping slowly to the merlons of the Great Wall, ready to pull himself up.

"You can't keep me prisoner," something about the low tone of his voice scared even Takumi himself- it sounded off, not like him, like someone else speaking through him. "Can't you see? You shouldn't have left me a way to escape…"

He slowly pulled himself up onto the edge of the wall, nothing but emptiness to his back. Facing Corrin, who's expression slowly turned into one of realization, he felt himself tip back ever so slightly, losing his balance and closing his eyes, resigning himself to his fate-

"Takumi, no!"

He could hear rushed footsteps, feel something grab at him and stop his fall- Corrin had been fast enough and close enough to catch him by an arm. Azura had also rushed forwards to hold onto him, and with their combined strength, pulled the Hoshidan prince up. The three tumbled to the wooden floors, Takumi fighting to get away- he pushed Corrin and Azura, clambering back to the wall, and the duo pulled him back. At some point, the other Nohrian royal siblings had the nerve to lay their hands on him, helping restrain him by tying his hands around his back.

"Let go of me, don't touch me, don't-" Finding the strength to at least scream at them (and only screaming louder when someone had suggested gagging him as well), Takumi was forced away from the ledge, turning his head to watch as his only escape was taken away from him. "I'll kill you!"

He wanted to scream more, curse all of them to a fate worse than death, but he was just so tired; everything hurt, his head was spinning, and he couldn't seem to take another step. Stalling in his tracks, he quieted down for a minute, causing Corrin to turn and glance at them worriedly. Giving them one final glare, he crumpled to the ground, his eyes fluttering shut as he passed out from pure exhaustion.

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ew that was gross im sorry

from now on itll veer off and become the worlds worst au sorry

also its been 200 years since ive written fic so im sorry i dont know how to title or summary anymore haha


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